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LOWER CACTUS VALLEY DITCH

Structure dossier · WDID 3900612 · 1 · COLORADO RIVER · DWR record

Where this page's figures come from

Generated 2026-08-27 21:14 by Hydrohistorian. Sources: DWR HydroBase snapshot HydroBase_CO_20260707 (history) + CDSS REST (current), USGS NWIS cross-checks. Engine v0.5.0 (2deb1d7) — every figure regenerates from this named code version and data image.

Where it sits

Location as DWR records it. Faint dots are the neighbouring water; click any to open it.

Which of its rights are out of priority?

Not computable for this structure: this structure is not on the modelled flow network, so no reference gage can honestly stand in for it.

Where it sits in line

Priority 1887-03-23 — 96th most senior of the 1758 structures with decreed rights in this water districtDWR's administrative subdivision of a river basin; the unit calls are usually stated in..

Under prior appropriationColorado's rule for sharing water: first in time, first in right. Age decides, not proximity or need., everything ahead of it in this line is satisfied in full before it receives any water. Immediately ahead: G E HARRIS DITCH (1887-02-25). Immediately behind: WHITTINGHAM DITCH (1887-04-25).

Decreed rights (3)

Admin noDWR's numeric encoding of a water right's seniority. Smaller is more senior; the integer part counts days from 1849-12-31 to the date that ranks the right. AppropriatedWhen water was first put to beneficial use. It sets seniority unless a prior adjudication date is later. AdjudicatedWhen the water court confirmed the right. A use decreed in 1975 was not a decreed use in 1955, however old the appropriation is. AbsoluteA right actually put to use, as opposed to conditional -- a placeholder for a use not yet made. ConditionalA right reserving a place in line for a use not yet made; it must be diligently pursued or it lapses. UnitsUsesWhat the court said this water may be used for -- irrigation, municipal supply, augmentation and so on.Case
13596.01887-03-231888-05-05 3.0330.0 CIRRMUNAUG 73
14147.01888-09-241889-05-11 50.00.0 CSTOIRRMUNCOMINDRECFIRDOMAUG 142B
57691.02007-12-142007-12-31 0.00.0 CAUG

Recorded use (last 15 years on record)

In a median year this structure has a recorded diversion of 14,438 AF. Its most recent year on record, 2024, came in at 14,389 AF — 100% of that, and 7th lowest of the 15 years with a recorded volume.

This structure records both diversions and reservoir releases — they are separate water movements and are accounted separately below.

YearDiverted (AFA volume: one acre covered a foot deep, about 326,000 gallons -- roughly a suburban household's outdoor use for a year.)Compared with its own recordReleased (AF)Days recordedPeak (cfs)
2010 14,438 8th lowest of 15 · 100% of median — 182 65.5
2011 16,460 12th lowest of 15 · 114% of median — 190 50.3
2012 18,326 15th lowest of 15 · 127% of median 1,133 216 53.3
2013 18,062 14th lowest of 15 · 125% of median 521 210 53.0
2014 13,050 4th lowest of 15 · 90% of median — 184 50.8
2015 11,913 2nd lowest of 15 · 82% of median 870 200 49.7
2016 14,354 6th lowest of 15 · 99% of median 2,039 214 53.1
2017 12,605 3rd lowest of 15 · 87% of median 622 214 46.2
2018 15,864 10th lowest of 15 · 110% of median 665 215 49.6
2019 15,815 9th lowest of 15 · 110% of median 601 214 51.4
2020 13,203 5th lowest of 15 · 91% of median 626 214 46.9
2021 17,589 13th lowest of 15 · 122% of median 1,818 214 47.3
2022 8,787 1st lowest of 15 · 61% of median 1,543 214 49.3
2023 16,018 11th lowest of 15 · 111% of median 1,347 214 44.6
2024 14,389 7th lowest of 15 · 100% of median 1,544 214 41.4

Advisory reading aid on public data — not an administrative or legal conclusion, not a title opinion, and not a substitute for DWR administration or an engineer's analysis. Methodology review status is disclosed at hydrohistorian's basin pages.